Age Appropriateness

MPAA Rating

Caveat Spectator

With its swashbuckling action and blend of traditional and 3D
computer animation, Sinbad most resembles Disney’s Treasure Planet — yet for once
DreamWorks handily outdoes its archrival, with bravura action set
pieces, a surprisingly complex romantic triangle, and an even
more remarkably thoughtful exploration of moral issues and
character.

The film opens with Sinbad and his pirate crew attempting to
steal the Book of Peace, a magical McGuffin that brings
prosperity and security to the Twelve Cities. Even when he
discovers the book guarded by his childhood friend Proteus
(Joseph Fiennes), Sinbad won’t relent — but then he runs into
another obstacle that he can’t face, and walks away.

Yet the book is stolen anyway and Sinbad framed for the crime,
and Proteus risks everything to give Sinbad a chance to prove
himself a hero rather than a thief. Even then, Sinbad’s lower
impulses dictate his actions, until Proteus’s fiancée
Marina (Catherine Zeta-Jones) gives him a selfish reason to do
the right thing.

Dazzling set pieces include a nerve-racking course through
siren-invested shoals and a breakneck chase down a snowbound
cliffside pursued by an angry roc. In this day and age, of
course, eye candy is par for the course in big-budget animation.
But how many cartoon swashbucklers ultimately come down to a
soul-baring moral dilemma that exposes the protagonist’s weakness
while offering a path to redemption through sacrifice?